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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28954593">sorry it was never you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthesocks/pseuds/burnthesocks'>burnthesocks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Regular Show (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Flirting, Denial of Feelings, Eavesdropping, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just guys being dudes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:41:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,839</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28954593</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthesocks/pseuds/burnthesocks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mordecai overhears a conversation between Rigby and Skips.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mordecai/Rigby (Regular Show)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>sorry it was never you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hehe i know this might look weird for those subbed to me for detroit, but i do not control the hyperfixation</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took him a while, but Mordecai finally found out what was up with Rigby. After weeks turned into months of him being distant and weird, Mordecai finally knew.</p><p>It'd happened by accident, too. Mordecai was trying to find Rigby since they were supposed to clean out the gutters hours ago, but he wasn't anywhere around. He was about to ask Skips if he'd seen him, his hand up to knock on the door, but he stopped when he heard both Skips's and Rigby's voices inside.</p><p>"But I can't just tell Mordecai," Rigby said ruefully. He sounded... stressed? "He'll think I'm weird and then things will get all awkward and... Ugh, I just know he doesn't feel the same."</p><p>
  <em> Feel the same? What? </em>
</p><p>"You can and should tell him. It'll be worse if you don't communicate, especially about things like this," Skips advised.</p><p>"He's my best friend, though. I don't wanna ruin everything," Rigby huffed and Mordecai could practically see that frustrated, stubborn expression he'd grown to love.</p><p>"You'll just have to take that chance, Rigby," Skips said. "Besides, you don't know that he doesn't feel the same way about you."</p><p>"I don't kno– hey, wait a second!" Rigby interjected. "Don't you know everything? Why can't you tell me if Mordecai likes me back?"</p><p>
  <em> Wait... </em>
</p><p>"It isn't that simple, I can't speak for Mordecai," Skips answered. "You'll just have to talk to him about it."</p><p>"Ugh," Rigby groaned. "I guess you're right. I'll try. Thanks, Skips, you've always got my back."</p><p>If that sounded like anything, it was a goodbye, and Mordecai only just then realized as he heard light footsteps that he was in a very compromising position.</p><p>"You're welcome, Rigby," was the last thing Mordecai heard before booking it back to the house, deciding to use the backdoor for discretion. It was a few minutes of sitting on his bed, processing what he’d just heard, before he could hear the sound of Rigby going up the stairs, likely on all fours. Mordecai braced himself for what it was he was fairly sure Rigby was going to say to him.</p><p>But to his surprise, when Rigby walked in, he said nothing close to the conversation Mordecai overheard him have with Skips.</p><p>“‘Sup,” Rigby greeted, kicking an empty chip bag off of his trampoline and onto the floor before crashing down onto it.</p><p>“‘Sup, dude,” Mordecai replied, relaxing slightly as he realized maybe Rigby wasn’t going to bring it up at all.</p><p>“Sorry I bailed on gutters,” Rigby apologized, and he actually sounded sincere. Mordecai was just glad he wasn’t being cold.</p><p>“That’s alright,” Mordecai shrugged, eyes reluctantly going away from Rigby to check the time. “We still have time.”</p><p>“Ehh.” Rigby was inspecting the chip bag, probably to see if it was empty. Mordecai watched his face contort into disappointment when he realized it was, in fact, chipless.</p><p>“C’mon, dude,” Mordecai prodded. “I dunno about you, but I’d rather not have Benson breathing down our necks.”</p><p>“Ugh, fiiine,” Rigby gave in, reluctantly standing. Mordecai followed suit, getting up and stretching before following Rigby outside. As they briskly collected the trash bag they needed, they hummed back and forth at each other and it put Mordecai at ease slightly that things were still somewhat as they’d always been.</p><p>“See, it’s not too bad,” Mordecai said, gesturing to the only somewhat nasty gutters.</p><p>“Aww, sick,” Rigby said with a grimace, picking up wet, clumped leaves. Mordecai shrugged and shook out the trash bag, grabbing the wet leaf pile from Rigby. Despite the somewhat disgusting exchange, Mordecai still felt his heart skip a beat when their fingers brushed, and he wondered if his eyes were tricking him or if Rigby’s face changed minutely when it happened. He brushed it off as nothing and dumped them into the bag.</p><p>As they continued this routine of grabbing and dumping leaves, Mordecai watched the sun slowly fall and felt somewhat at ease even despite the labor that was making the both of them break a sweat as the setting sun bore down on them. He could hear the distant voices of people in the Park that were likely leaving soon, but other than that it was quiet.</p><p>Uncomfortably so, and he was hoping Rigby would say something- fucking <em> anything </em>, but he never did. Mordecai didn’t know if he was imagining it, but it really looked like there was something being unsaid. He knew Rigby well enough to interpret some of his endearingly expressive faces, and Rigby had that look that he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. Mordecai wondered if it was about what he’d overheard.</p><p>Hell, that conversation was all that was on Mordecai’s mind since he’d heard it and he was driving himself crazy with it. He kept replaying the words he’d heard through that door over and over, wondering if there was anything else it could have meant besides Rigby having feelings for him.</p><p>Mordecai had feelings for Rigby since high school, but it was always something he’d repressed because he didn’t think Rigby would return those feelings in the slightest. As Rigby would likely call it, he always “pulled a Mordecai” when it came to those entirely unaddressed feelings. But within those past few hours, he’d thought about those feelings that he’d been ignoring more than he ever had before.</p><p>As they shuffled across the roof getting leaves out of the gutter, Mordecai noticed it was closing in now, and that the moment would pass. Rigby would likely get all weird by tomorrow and Mordecai would have missed his window to say anything. Even knowing this, though, Mordecai couldn’t bring himself to speak. His hands were restless, tapping the sides of the overflowing leaf bag when he wasn’t grabbing wet leaves from Rigby, who kept getting distracted by the sound it made when he slapped the roof. Mordecai occasionally had to get him back on task, but it wasn’t anything he minded, nor had it ever been. It was one of the things he liked about Rigby if he was honest.</p><p>“Look, dude, we’re almost done,” Mordecai pointed out as an attempt to get Rigby back on task, who was mumbling to himself about the two similar-looking leaves he was holding and how they were brothers. Mordecai was listening, even if Rigby didn’t think he was.</p><p>“Huh?” Rigby looked up, right up at Mordecai, and Mordecai was startled by the eye contact to the extent of hurriedly looking away. He could practically feel the way Rigby squinted at him for it but didn’t give until Rigby said, “oh, right, the leaves.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Mordecai replied blankly, putting more breath in it than he intended; he didn’t realize he was holding his breath in the first place. Rigby gave him another disgruntled look that he pretended not to notice before picking up more of the leaves and dropping them into the trash bag.</p><p>Mordecai glanced away again when Rigby’s eyes looked up into his and he noted that the sunset was starting to look really nice, but he knew it wasn’t at its peak yet and was glad they still had time out there so he could see it then. It was a small thing he liked a lot, even if it was cliche.</p><p>“Dude?” Rigby waved his small hands in Mordecai’s face and Mordecai barely held back a smile at how hard Rigby had to strain just to get it in his field of view.</p><p>“Hm?” Mordecai looked down at him and realized that he had a pile of leaves to take from Rigby. “Oh, my bad, dude.”</p><p>“You’re good,” Rigby said, and it was strangely genuine and Mordecai swallowed thickly. He wondered again if he was imagining the tone Rigby said it in, shaking his head slightly as though to clear his thoughts as he grabbed the soggy leaves and dropped them into the bag. They were almost finished now, and Mordecai was somewhat disappointed. He didn’t want the casualty of their time together to end; he just knew that it would be weird again in the morning.</p><p>“Just about there,” Mordecai muttered to himself, hoping that Rigby didn’t hear him and especially hoping those ears didn’t detect the disappointment in his voice. His hope was probably fruitless because Rigby was giving him yet another weird look and Mordecai shrugged awkwardly, shaking around the bag a little and spilling a few leaves onto the roof. Rigby chuckled at that and awkwardly reached around Mordecai to pick up the leaves.</p><p>Mordecai was tense at his sudden proximity and inwardly shamed himself. He’d always had these feelings but it was never this bad to the point where it interfered with the way he interacted with Rigby. He almost wished he hadn’t overheard the conversation to begin with, since he was far too nervous to say anything himself about it and Rigby didn’t seem too inclined on taking Skips’s advice.</p><p>“Mordecai?” Rigby’s voice finally registered in Mordecai’s head and he turned to Rigby perhaps too sharply. It wasn’t hard to make out the concern etched into Rigby’s features, though maybe that was because after all their time spent together, Mordecai could read him like a damn book. “You’re acting weird, dude.”</p><p>“My bad, dude,” Mordecai apologized, picking up more leaves and putting them into the bag that was beginning to overflow. Luckily, it looked like there were only a couple more piles, and they moved onto those with not-too-many concerned looks from Rigby as Mordecai fidgeted with the drawstrings of the bag. </p><p>Rigby huffed a sigh when they were finally done picking up leaves, plopping himself down on the roof and hanging his little legs off of the edge. Mordecai smiled a little at that; Rigby looked cute like that. Mordecai tightened the drawstrings to close the bag and tied a sloppy knot to keep it shut, putting it to the side and sitting beside Rigby, allowing himself a little more proximity than he normally would because maybe Rigby would see it as platonic.</p><p>With the look Rigby gave him, he was probably wrong in that assumption, but Mordecai played it off by shifting a little and holding his knees to his chest to avoid them swinging and displaying his restlessness.</p><p>“See, it wasn’t that bad,” Mordecai remarked, elbowing Rigby gently. “And the sunset looks cool. Pretty view.”</p><p>“Mhm, yeah.” Rigby nodded, though when Mordecai turned, Rigby’s eyes were directly on him. Mordecai could swear he saw Rigby blush and he knew he couldn’t be imagining the cute way his cheeks flushed. That was too cute of an image for his brain to form on its own.</p><p>“You look, um, cool too,” Mordecai stammered, unable to contain the grimace afterward. Rigby laughed breathlessly.</p><p>“Fucking what, dude?” Rigby’s eyebrows were raised and he looked amused. “Did you just pull a Mordecai on <em> me </em>?”</p><p>“Uh, haha, guess I did,” Mordecai said, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.</p><p>“I’m honored,” Rigby said, nodding with a sense of purpose and self-satisfaction. Mordecai rolled his eyes fondly, elbowing him again with the same gentleness as before, getting a sharp one back. “Really though, there’s something I gotta talk to you about.”</p><p>“Oh, um.” Mordecai tensed and his mind went totally blank as he realized this was probably what this whole thing was leading up to. “What’s that, dude?”</p><p>“I don’t really know how I can say this,” Rigby mumbled, and Mordecai looked at him softly.</p><p>“Dude, I’m sure it’s fine,” Mordecai said, putting a comforting hand on Rigby’s shoulder in an unusual show of affection. “I know it is. Just talk to me, man.”</p><p>“Well, I dunno, it’s kinda weird, but,” Rigby stumbled on his words and Mordecai had to force down another smile as Rigby blushed again. “I kinda like you? In like, a not friend way.”</p><p>“Oh,” Mordecai said dumbly, and even though he’d reached that conclusion already, it was different to hear it, and his face mirrored Rigby’s as an embarrassingly strong blush appeared on his own face. “I mean- I do too, dude.”</p><p>“Wait what?” Rigby seemed surprised, his ears twitching in that cute way they did when he gets confused. “Seriously man?”</p><p>“Yeah, seriously,” Mordecai answered, still hardly believing the conversation was happening. “Since high school, dude. I’ve dated a lot of chicks to kinda ignore it. Guess that’s why those relationships never do work out. I’m sorry it was never you.”</p><p>“That… makes sense,” Rigby replied, still seeming surprised. “And it’s fine, dude, you didn’t know.”</p><p>“Yeah. That’s why I’d act so weird when we slept in your bed and shit.”</p><p>“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” Rigby laughed quietly, a sound Mordecai cherished along with the reminiscing look on his best friend’s face. “You were <em> so </em> weird about it, man.”</p><p>“It made me nervous!” Mordecai exclaimed, his arms shooting outward defensively. “You were just so casual about it and it was nice but, like, weird, cause I liked you and stuff.”</p><p>“Y’know what, Mordecai?” Rigby asked, leaning closer to Mordecai with a grin.</p><p>“What, dude?” Mordecai turned to Rigby.</p><p>“I’ve also liked you since high school,” Rigby snickered and Mordecai facepalmed.</p><p>“Aw, dude, really? This whole time for you too?” Mordecai shook his head, as relieved as he was exasperated.</p><p>“Yep. <em> Whole </em>time,” Rigby said, and Mordecai sighed, his posture relaxing slightly.</p><p>“Thank fuck,” Mordecai huffed. “You wanna know what?”</p><p>“What?” Rigby asked, keeping his eyes on the setting sun. Mordecai sighed dreamily at the way the deep orange lighting made Rigby look before blinking and remembering he was supposed to speak.</p><p>“I, uh, heard you and Skips,” Mordecai admitted.</p><p>“Aw, what? Really?” Rigby looked at Mordecai with wide eyes.</p><p>“Yup. Was looking around for you for the gutters and I was about to ask Skips, then I heard you.”</p><p>“So you just sat outside the door?” Rigby asked, giving Mordecai a look that said <em> really, dude? </em></p><p>“Sure did.”</p><p>“So why didn’t <em> you </em> start this talk- you already knew? Damn it, man,” Rigby laughed.</p><p>“Wanted to hear you say it.” Mordecai shrugged. “Plus, you’re really cute when you get embarrassed.”</p><p>“Stop talking!” Rigby shouted, earning a laugh from Mordecai, who ruffled Rigby’s messed hair benevolently. Rigby leaned into it a little, just enough that Mordecai barely noticed it, and he felt that familiar warmth in his chest that he’d not let himself acknowledge for the longest time. Rigby relaxed into Mordecai a little and Mordecai smiled, unbeknownst to Rigby who was staring out at the sky.</p><p>Mordecai kissed Rigby’s head, who made a surprised sound and Mordecai chuckled quietly before looking forward at the sun setting. It was at its peak, pinks, oranges and yellows and even deep reds blending together beautifully.</p><p>“This is nice,” Rigby said quietly, and Mordecai pulled him into his side closer.</p><p>“Yeah,” Mordecai agreed. “It really is. I don’t tell you this enough- or ever- but like, I love you, dude.”</p><p>“Aw, sick, dude,” Rigby said with mock disgust. “I love you too, Mordecry.”</p><p>“Hey, shut up, I’m not crying!” Mordecai whipped his head around at him. Rigby laughed.</p><p>“I know, it’s just funny,” Rigby said smugly. Mordecai rolled his eyes. He hardly saw it coming, but he barely caught the movement before Rigby kissed him. It was just a peck, and Rigby pulled away quickly. Mordecai opened his mouth to make a snide remark, but Rigby caught him in the act. “Shut up.”</p><p>“Okay, okay,” Mordecai chuckled. “Was just gonna say that was cute.”</p><p>“Stop talking!” Rigby said again, his eyes scrunching shut. Mordecai laughed, pulling him back into his side and relaxing into him a little. Rigby let out a sigh that sounded content and Mordecai was satisfied. They could talk about it more later. For now, it seemed that Rigby, too, just wanted to stay there and enjoy the moment with him, and Mordecai was more than happy to stay there with him and watch the sunset.</p><p>Even when the fading sun couldn’t keep them warm, they could keep each other warm, and even knowing they had to go in eventually, Mordecai felt like he could stay there forever watching the dark pink clouds slowly drift across the sky. But he knew the warmth would stay, even when they parted, because he had Rigby now, and he felt more at ease than he had in a long time right there with the one he loved. He snickered at how cliche it was, and Rigby peered up at him. Mordecai could tell Rigby was sleepy from the manual labor and he felt his heart clench at how cute he looked.</p><p>“What’s funny?” Rigby asked, his voice low and somewhat strained the way it always got when he was tired.</p><p>“Nothin’,” Mordecai answered. “Just thinking stupid things about you.”</p><p>“‘Course you are, you damn sap,” Rigby chuckled quietly. Mordecai smiled and kissed Rigby’s head again, looking back out onto the sky and sighing quietly. It was cliche, but he really did feel calm and content, and it was a beautiful feeling.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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